What Makes Maintaining a 1911 Easier than Most Firearms

Whether you find cleaning and routine maintenance of your guns a necessary annoyance or a relaxing activity, it’s a must-do task. Maintaining your guns will help keep them running smoothly well into the future. Generally, a gun with simple engineering and fewer parts will be easier to take apart to clean. The highly respected 1911 pistol easily fits the bill.

Here’s what makes cleaning a Rock Island Armory 1911 a walk in the park.

It's Easy to Disassemble/Reassemble

One of the best aspects of the 1911 is the ease of disassembling the gun. A simple field-strip or complete disassembly can be performed relatively quickly. Hopefully, the only time you’ll need to disassemble your gun is during cleaning.

The most important part to clean is the barrel. You should also apply lubricant to any areas that experience friction with the slide or other parts. A routine cleaning after each range outing is recommended, which only requires you to do a simple field-strip.

To learn how to perform a complete disassembly of your Rock Island 1911, watch this video. You can also see how we recommend cleaning your 1911 pistol.

It Has Fewer Parts

Another aspect of the 1911 that makes maintenance easy is the lower number of parts and the simplicity behind how those parts work together, as compared to other, more complex firearms. Need proof? Take a look at the inner workings of the Russian AN-94, and compare it to the 1911. As far as maintenance goes, the 1911 seems like the easier of the two.

The more complex the system, the harder it will be to maintain. The 1911 earned its place as a prominent, long-time service pistol for militaries and law enforcement around the world, thanks not only to good firepower but also to its intuitive, easy-to-maintain design.

It's Proven

If you’re looking for a historical, proven platform that’s easy to use and maintain, then the 1911 is for you. A good starting point, without going for broke, is the Rock Island GI Standard. Or if you prefer a compact package, you should consider the 3.5” barrel option.